Venetian blind



c. H. WOOD VENETIAN BLIND Filed March 21, 1938 Nov. 28, 1939.

IN VENTOR A TTORNE Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Nov. 28, 1 939 uN 'rEo s'rA'rEs PATENT oat-"ice I i I I 01mm awwi, om, Calif. Application Mild]! 21, 1938, M1 N0. 197,168

a Claims- (cl. its-m This invention relates to the type of closure for windows and the like commonly referred to as Venetian blinds.

It is an object of myinvention to provide a i simplified structure of the class described.

' Another object of my invention is to provide, in a Venetian blind structure. unitary means for raising the blind to clear the window, or other opening over which itis mounted, or for tilting the slats of the blind to various angular positions so as to cover the opening to various degrees.

A further'object of the invention is to provide I a structure composed of a greatly lessened num- 'ber of parts than is found inthe conventional Venetian blind thereby rendering the blind of my invention capable of being manufactured and sold at a materially lower cost than the conventional blind.

The invention possesses other objects and feaw tures of advantage, some of which, together with the foregoing, will be specifically set forth in the detailed description of the invention hereunto annexed. It is to be understood that the invention is-not to be limited to the particular form 5 thereof herein shown and described as various other embodiments thereof may be employed within the scope of the appended claims. 7 Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a*front elevational view of a complete Venetian blind embodying the improvements of my invention. Portions of the view are omitted so as to conserve space in the drawings. Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the structure shownin Fi e 1 showing the slats in 55 their fully opened posit on. The plane in which" the view is taken is indicated by the line 2-4 of Figure 1.

. Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showin the slats in a tilted position.

4 Figure 4 is aview similar to Figures 2 and 3 showing the blind raised to uncover a portion of the opening in which itis hung.

In-detail, I have shown, for Purp ses of illustration, a rectangular frame composed of a pair 45 of vertically disposed stiles 6 joined together at their upper ends by a top rail I and at their lower ends by a bottom rail 8. Within the opening defined by the frame, and secured to thetop rail 1 r by suitable means such as the wood screws 8, is

50 a'header bar -ll provided with a longitudinally extending groove which forms a hollow chamber i2 withinthe bar.

, Secured to each of the stiles O, by suitable screws l3, directly below the header bar, is a 55 pair of brackets it each being provided, as is best shown in Figure 1,.with an oflset portion It apertured to receive and rotatably journal pivot pins II which are secured in and protrude from the ends of a tilt bar It. The pins H are located centrally of the ends of the bar I8 and on the 5 longitudinal axis thereof so that the bar is mount ed for rotary motion about the said axis. Attached to and depending, in spaced relation, from opposite edges of thetilt bar It are spaced pairs of fabric support straps it, each pair of which is 10 provided, at spaced intervals longitudinally thereof, with horizontally disposed fabric stirrups 2| which are attached to or integrally interwoven with the support straps I9. These stirrups engage and support a plurality of thin'slats or shutter blades it, the slats being'spaced apart equal to the. spacing of the 'stirrups. The lower ends of the support straps it pass over opposite edges of a lower tiltbar 23 and are secur in any suitable manner, to the lower side of the latter bar. The lower tilt bar, like the upper bar ll, is

- provided at its ends with pivot pins 24 which are secured in and protrude from the bar and are 'releasably engageable with brackets 20; one of which isbest shown in Figure 4, having an offset 25 portion 21 provided with a reversed L-shaped notch 28. The length of the straps it is such 1, I

that when the blind is in its lowered position, as shown in Figure l,'each pivot pin 24 will .be positioned slightly above the opening of a notch 28 so 3 that in order to insert the pins into the notches downward pressure must be imposed on the lower tilt bar 23. v This will stretch the straps it whereupon the pins may bepushed into the notches and upon release of the pressure on the tiltbar the pins will be pulled upwardly into the seat ll wherein they will be forcibly held by-the tcnsioned straps l9 against accidental displacement. Thus, both the upper and lower tilt bars, and the slats 22, are mounted for rotational movement 40 simultaneously about their respective longitudinal axes since they are each connected together at their edges by the support straps ll.

' Means are provided for rotating the upper tilt bar so as to move the slats into various tilted positions and the said means also function to permit upward collapsing of the blind so as to uncover various portions of the frame opening.

Positioned adjacent one side of the opening is a 34 and horizontally along the hollow chamber 12.- One cord 36 of the pair is trained over a tilted guide pulley 31, mounted within the chamber l2 header bar. The other cord 39- of the pair extends along the chamber l2 and is trained over a guide pulley 4|, centrally located over the left hand set of support straps i9 and tilted oppositely to the pulley 31, and passes downwardly and out of the header bar toward the front edge of the tilt bar through an aperture '42 inclined oppositely to the aperture 33.

, Formed in the tiltbar l3 centrally over the support straps I9 is a pair of notches 43 and 44 the former of which, positioned over the righthand pair of support straps I9,'opens at the rear edge ,of the tilt bar, as viewed in Figure 1, and

the latter of which, positioned centrally over the left-hand pair of support straps, opens at the front edge of the tilt bar. Journaled in'brackets 46,. attached in any suitable manner to the bottom surface of the tilt bar and extending into the notches 43 and 44, are pairs of rotatable guide pulleys 41, the pulleys being so arranged,

as is best shown in Figures 2 to 4 inclusive, that f one pulley of each pair is positioned preferably tangential with the longitudinal center line of the tilt bar while the other pulley of each pair is disposed in horizontally spaced relation with the first mentioned pulleys and adjacent the longi- 'tudinal edges of the tilt bar. The spacing of the means of which the tilt barmay be rotated, se-

4n lectively, in either direction.

The cord 36, after passing downwardly through the aperture 38, is trained, over and under the outermostpulley 41 of the right-hand pair, as shown in Figure 2,-then upwardly between the j 45 pulleys and over the innermost pulley of the pair and then directly downwardly through the elongated apertures 48 formed in each of the slats 22, medially of the width of the support straps l3, and through a suitable aperture 49 formed 50 in the lower tilt bar 23. After passing through the aperture 49 the cord is provided with a knot 5i which reposes in a counterbored portion 52 of the aperture 49 so as .to secure, the cord and tilt bar together. The other cord 39, after pass- 55 ing downwardly through the aperture 42, is trained over and under the outermost pulley 41 of the left-hand pair, then upwardly between the pulleys. and over the innermost pulley of the pair and then downwardly through additional apertures-48 formed in each of the slats 22 medially of the width of the left-hand pair of support straps l9. The lower end of the cord 39 is secured by a knot 33 in the counterbore 34,. pro- 75 rotatable blind elements.

2,181,412 l I i It willbe seen,inFigures 2 and 3, that when the pivot pins 24 of the lower tilt bar 23 are engagedwith the brackets 23 and one of the cords 3| forming the loop 32, which in this case is the left-hand cord shown in Figure 1, is pulled downwardly while the other cord of the loop remains free, the tension in the cord will tend to straighten out the 8-shaped bend where the cord passes over "the pulleys 41 with the result that the outermost pulley will be forced upwardly thereby forcing the upper tilt bar to rotate about its longitudinal This movement of the upper tilt bar will result, as is shown in Figure 3, in the slats 22 and the lower tilt bar moving simultaneously and equally with the upper tilt bar onto any inclined position, depending upon the degree of pull imposed on the cord, between horizontal and the maximum position indicated in the last-named figure of the drawings. Similarly, a downward pull on the right-hand cord 3| shown in Figure 1 will move the tilted blind elements to any position between that shown in Figure 3 to a maximum tilted position reversed from that shown in the latter figure. In order to limit the degree of tilt of the upper tilt bar, the latter is provided at one end with a pair of spaced stop pins 38 which, as the bar I3 moves, strike alternately against the sides of the bracket l4 thereby prohibiting movement of the tilt bar beyond the inclined position in which it is shown in Figure 3.

The blind may be collapsed upwardly so as to uncover a large or a lesser portion of .the frame opening. It will be seen that if the lower tilt bar is freed fronnthe brackets 23, and both pull cords 3| are drawn downwardly equally and simultaneously, the cords 36 and 39 will be tensioned to move the tilt bar 23 upwardly and, as it contacts successive of the slats 22 during'its movement, will also elevate the slats until allof the latter have been moved upwardly to positions below the upper tilt bar l3 as is clearly shown in Figure 4. In order to hold the collapsed blind in the position shown in the latter figure, I provide a latch for the pull cords which prevents their retraction. This latch preferably takes the form of an arm 39 which is pivotally mounted on a pin 3| secured in the bracket in which the sheave 34 is journaled, having an arcuate surface 32 thereon whose radius progressively increases from a minimum, which is less. than the distance from the axis of the pin ii to the confronting surface of the cord'where it passes over the sheave, to a maximum, which is greater than the aforesaid radial distance. Thus, when it is desired to retain the pull cords in a given position after they have been drawn downwardly, the operator moves the cords at arms length to his right, as viewed in Figure 1, untilthe cords contact the curved surface 32 of the latch arm. Then, holding the cords in the above-mentioned extended position and allowing them to retract a slight amount, the arm 39 will be moved upwardly until, at a point on its curved periphery, the cords will be clamped between the said periphery and the sheave 34. The above locking operation may also be performed when it is-desired to latch the blind in any tilted position; p

Having thus described-my invention and its mode of operation, what I claim is:

1. 4 device of the class described comprising a frame bordering an opening, an upper tilt bar pivotally mounted for rotational movement about its longitudinal axis on saidframeadjacent one a side of said ope ing, a lower tilt bar likewise shutter blades in ofguideplflieysfor pivotally mounted on said frame adjacent the opposite side of said opening, a plurality of shutter blades positioned in said opening between said tilt bars, means connecting said tilt bars and said shutter blades together for supporting said shutter blades in spaced relation to each other and to said tilt bars and whereby upon rotational movement of said upper tilt bar like rotational move- 'ment will be imparted to the shutter blades and the lower tilt bar, a cord secured atone end to said lower tilt bar and extending upwardly toward said upper tilt bar, first guide means on and adjacent the rotational axis of said upper tilt bar over which said cord passes, second guide means on said upper tilt bar spaced radially from said rotational axis thereof. and from the first guide means, with which said cord is also en gaged, and a fixed guide on said frame over which said cord passes after leaving said second guide means. 4

2. A device of the class described comprising a frame bordering an opening, anupper tilt bar pivotally mounted for rotational movement about its longitudinal axis on said frame adjacent one side of said opening, a lower tilt bar likewise pivotally mounted on said frame adjacent the opposite side of said opening, a plurality of shutter blades positioned in. said opening between said tilt bars, means connecting said tilt bars and said shutter blades together for supporting said spaced relation to each other and to said tilt bars and whereby upon rotational movement of said upper tilt bar like rotational movement will be imparted to the shutter blades and the lower tilt bar, a pair of horizontally spaced parallel cords each secured at one end to said lower tilt bar and each extending upwardly toward said upper tilt bar. sep te pairs side of said opening, a.

other and to said eachofsaideordsmoimted on said upper tilt bar, one pulley of each pair around and over which said cords first pass being disposed closely adjacent the rotational axis of the upper tilt bar and the other pulley of each pair, around and below which said cords pm after leaving said first-mentioned pulleys, being positioned respectively adjacent opposite longi .tudinal edges of said upper tilt bar, and separate fixed guide pulleys on said frame over which, respectively, the ends of said cords pass in converging relation.

3. A device ofv the class described comprising a frame bordering an opening, an upper tilt bar pivotally mounted for rotational movement about its longitudinal ads on said frame adjacent one lower tilt bar likewise pivotally mounted onsaid frame adjacent the opposite side of said opening, a plurality of shutter blades positioned in said opening between said tilt bars, means connecting said tilt bars and said shutter blades together for supporting said shutter blades in spaced relationship to each tilt bars and whereby upon rotational movement of said upper tilt bar like rotational movement will be imparted to the shutter blades and the lower tilt bar, a. cord secured at one end to said lower tilt bar and extending upwardly through the tilt bars and the shutter blades in coincidence with the respective rotational axes there0f,means carried by said upper tilt bar for guiding said cord across said upper tilt bar from a position adjacent said rotational axis thereof to a position adjacent a longitudinal edge thereof, and guide means carrled by said frame, and positioned in a plane coinciding with the respective rotational axes of said tilt bars and shutter blad over which said cord CHARLES H. WQOD. 

